"Your highness, Alpha Simon is stating the truth." "Katrina tried to seduce the Alpha and begged me to bring her to his room," Madam Anita lied and raised her head to face Katrina, then she grinned at her. "She is a liar and the other maids can attest to her!" She said.
"How dare you lie!" Katrina shouted at her. "You brought me here and now you lie!" She fell on her knees and bowed her head to Christian. "Please believe me, your highness! "Madam Anita is lying! " Katrina cried out.
"No she isn't!" One of the maids shouted at Katrina. "You told me you wanted Alpha Simon and it was the reason you fell on his legs at the meeting room!" She pointed out
Christian cleared his throat and looked towards Katrina. He knew they were all lying because he could feel Katrina's pain through the bond, but even if he wanted to save her, there was nothing he could do. It was her word against so many. Christian believed that Katrina could have avoided everything if she had stayed away from Alpha Simon's room.
"Please, your highness, don't let a useless Omega severe the friendship between us!" Alpha Simon begged.
Christian turned to look at him with his glaring red eyes. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath, trying so hard to suppress the burning fire inside of him. Christian had heard news about Alpha Simon and the way he forced himself on girls in his pack. Christian knew he had to be punished, but he couldn't let Katrina go free either. He closed his eyes, and when he opened, he gave his order. "Take them into the cell!" he declared.
"Your highness! You are taking me to the cell when I didn't do anything! " Alpha Simon screamed as he was dragged away.
"Your highness," Katrina cried as she was pulled up by the guards. The blankets wrapped around her body fell to the ground, and Christian quickly covered her from everyone's view.
"Pick up the blanket and wrap yourself!" he ordered her with his eyes up away from her naked body.
Katrina nodded in response and wrapped the blanket tightly around her naked body. She tried to say something, but Christian beckoned to the guards to take her away. "You have to believe me!" She shouted. "I didn't do anything wrong!" She cried as they dragged her away.
Christian also left the room with Stefan and his entourage, leaving Madam Anita and the rest of the maids in the room. When he was outside the room, Stefan asked him a question. "Why did you believe other people's words about her?" He asked.
"Because there is no proof that he did anything wrong," Christian answered in a stern tone. "Don't preach to me, Stefan!" He warned. "She bought it upon herself, and it's a win for me if she dies in that cell."
"You keep saying that, but at the same time, you can afford to see her hurt," Stefan pointed out and scoffed. "Just admit it, Christian, you can't control your emotions around her!"
Christian stopped walking and turned to face Stefan. He pointed a finger at him and chuckled."I don't want her to die because of the bond, not because I feel anything for her and you understand what this woman did to me yet you go against me every single time!" Christian growled at him.
"She is not Veronica!"
"Don't mention her name!" Christian grabbed Stefan by the neck and pinned him to the wall. "Don't mention her name around me! I already warned you, Stefan! "
"Apologies your highness," Stefan said.
Christian let go of him and walked away. "Fuck everything!" he cursed under his breath as he walked towards his office. When he reached his office, he pushed everything on his desk to the ground and kicked the couch. He yelled and kicked the door multiple times until Stefan walked in.
"You know that destroying things won't change anything!" Stefan shouted and grabbed Christian, who was about to kick the door yet again. "If anyone hears you, they'll think you've gone mad!" Stefan shouted at him.
"Let's go of me!" "Christian he said through gritted teeth, and pushed Stefan off of him. He kicked him on the shoulder, but instead of retaliating, Stefan heaved a sigh and crossed his arms together. "You will sentence the both of them and have that crazy Alpha demoted from his pack. Let his son or next heir take over the throne. Announce the verdict to them tomorrow! " Christian ordered and then turned to leave, but Stefan stopped him by standing in front of him. "Move!"
"Where are you going?" Stefan asked.
"Where I can't smell her!" Christian answered and pushed Stefan away. "Punish her right away and she might be lucky because you get to give her the punishment. I'll be watching,"Christian headed out of his office and walked out of the mansion until he reached the woods of his large estate. He shifted into his wolf and looked up to stare at the full moon. He howled to the moon and ran around while trying so hard to get Katrina off his mind.
If he could only get Katrina off his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~
The following day, Stefan stood outside the mansion with Katrina kneeling by his left side and Alpha Simon by his right. Opposite him stood the rest of the Alphas that had come for the pack meeting. They waited to hear the verdict before heading back to their various packs. The maids who lied against Katrina stood far away waiting for Stefan's sentence, and even Madam Anita was present at the front of the mansion with the Alphas.
"This is the Royal Order!" Stefan shouted, and everyone stopped talking at once. "Madam Anita, please step forward," Stefan ordered.
Madam Anita placed a hand on her beating chest as she moved forward. She had never expected to be called out because she believed lying against Katrina would save her. "Your grace," she said, bowing her head. "Is anything the problem?" She asked.
"From now henceforth, you are no longer a servant of the Royal Mansion! You are relieved of your duties! " He informed her.
"What?" Madam Anita shouted and quickly fell on her knees. I didn't do anything wrong! "Please have mercy on your grace," she begged.
It's the Royal Order! You have a few minutes to leave here now or I'll order the guards to drag you out! " Stefan threatened her.
"It's all because of this useless Omega! She caused it and made the king chase me out! " Madam Anita pointed fingers at Katrina and rushed to attack her, but Stefan grabbed her hand before she could hit Katrina.
"I warned you, didn't I?" He shouted and pushed her backwards. "Guards!" He yelled. "Take her away!" He ordered her.
"Yeah, your highness," Two guards grabbed Madam Anita and dragged her away.
"I'll be back for you, Katrina! You ruined my life and I will come back! " She shouted as she was dragged away.
"Back to the Royal Order!" Stefan shouted. Stefan muttered something to Alpha Simon.
Alpha Simon crawled towards him and held his legs. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. " He begged.
Stefan chuckled and kicked him with his legs. "I can pardon you if you say the truth about last night. Do you try to force yourself on the maid Katrina or not? " Stefan asked him.
At first, Alpha Simon said nothing and kept mute because the other Alphas had started muttering and pointing fingers at him. "Ain't you going to say anything?" Stefan shouted at him.
"Your grace, please pardon me. It's the truth. I tried to have my way with her. I forced myself on her," he cried out and held Stefan's legs. "Please pardon me and give me one chance," he begged.
"So he was responsible and he lied against the Omega!" One of the Alphas said and pointed fingers at Alpha Simon.
"He lied against her! A pathetic Alpha! " Another Alpha said and they all started muttering amongst themselves.
Stefan chuckled and bent down. He touched Alpha Simon's forehead and pushed it backwards. "A sinner like you deserves to be punished! The king orders you to be demoted from your rank and your next heir take your position as the Alpha of your pack! " Stefan cleared his throat and stood up.
"But you said you'd forgive me if I told the truth!" "Alpha Simon!" I shouted.
Stefan pointed fingers at Katrina, who knelt beside him. "And I lied because you all lied against this Omega last night," he said.
Katrina had not expected that everything would change that morning. She had thought she would be punished by the King and chased out of the Mansion, but when she heard the verdict against Madam Anita and Alpha Simon, she smiled as a lone tear escaped her eye. She wiped it off and looked up to face Stefan, who was staring back at her with a smile.
"Guards! Escort Alpha Simon to his car! " Stefan ordered
"Wait! I deserve a second chance! Wait! "Alpha Simon! shouted as he was dragged away. "Alpha Roku!" He begged one of the Alphas to save him, but none of them turned to look at him. They shook their heads in pity as Alpha Simon was dragged away.
"The rest of you may leave," Stefan said to the rest of the Alphas.
"Yeah, your grace." They all bowed their heads and walked away.
Katrina remained where she knelt until Stefan helped her up from the ground. "You are clear of your charges," Stefan informed her.
"Thank you, your grace," Katrina sniffled, and wiped the tears off her face. "Thank you, your grace," Katrina said as she bowed her head. "I'm grateful," she said as she burst into tears again. "You don't know what this means to me!" She cried and wiped the tears off her face.
"It's okay. You may leave and rest. After all, you spent the night in the cell. Take your bath, eat, and rest. "
"Thank you so much, Your Grace!" Katrina lowered her head and turned to leave. She wiped her face as she headed towards the servant quarters. "Thank you, heavens," she looked up and whispered. "Thank you!"
Stefan smiled as he watched her go away. He had changed Christian's order and saved Katrina instead. He had no idea why he decided to go against Christian, but he believed that Katrina was better than Veronica.
"I see you just went against me!" Christian appeared behind Stefan and shot fireballs out of his hands.
Stefan ducked it and laughed. "I did what I could do and I'm so sorry that your petty revenge didn't work out," Stefan laughed and ducked another fireball from Christian. "You should be grateful to me for saving your mate!" Stefan clicked his tongue and headed into the mansion, ignoring Christian who called after him.